Weeping over the Ruins of a Fishing Village

Giclee (pigmented) print on archival canvas.

41.50x28x1"

Limited edition 1 of 5.

Copyright 2014
Location: Al Hamra Ruins - Ras Al Khaymah, UAE
This picture is part of a project of the same title, were Investigate the empty soul of abandoned human settlement, mostly focusing on human made disasters, such as war, ethnic cleansing or abrupt changes in our socio-economic ways of life. I have traveled to places of sudden economic changes because of the discovery of oil (the Persian Gulf), places of war and conflict (abandoned Greek villages in Turkey) and I intend to do the same with other places in Bosnia, and hopefully oneday in Lebanon and Palestine. I also intend to do the same in Appalachia and here in Canada
The title is inspired by the tradition of oral Classical Arab Poetry, Halting on the Ruins/Weeping by the Ruins or in Arabic "Al Woqouf Ala Al Atlal". The Origins of the tradition root back to the Pre-Islamic 6th century Arab Oral nomadic poetry, where travelling Nomadic Arab Poets (like the famous Pre-Islamic Umru Al Qays) wandering the desert would encounter traces of human settlements, where their beloved tribe once florished. The metaphor of this tradition represents the loss of a loved one, or confronting human impermanence. This style started to disappear after the flourishing of Arab Islamic Civilization, only to return in modern times in search of a lost glory.
Process: I built the structure around the wall placing artificial lights along the available light. Then I shot with different exposures, showing a wider range of exposures for the different objects. Finally I used HDR techniques during post production. I intentionally used Canvas as a medium to give some structure to the Art work
The Art work along side other selected pictures from the project was part of a traveling art exhibition, reflecting Arab and Iranian photographers organized by Goethe Institute.
The Art Work itself received the Judge's Award of Merit in the Internal Fine Art Photography Awards, Paris, 2013.